Gardening with the Moon isn’t a magic wand – you still need to consider the all-important Earthly influences like air temperatures and soil conditions, but it’s a wonderful way to raise your consciousness up to the heavens and become aware of the beautiful cosmic context that we all live and grow in.

We all accept that the Moon has a huge influence on large bodies of water by moving the ocean tides twice a day, but it’s perhaps less understood that she also influences the fluid element in all living organisms on our planet. The water in the soil, the sap in plants, and the fluid in all animals – from cellular life to humans – is all affected by the movements of the Moon.

In my experience as a biodynamic herb grower, we can work with four main Moon rhythms.

Full Moon/New Moon rhythm

The week before a full Moon, when the watery forces are stronger, is usually the best time to sow your seeds for a fast and good germination.

Moon Perigee and Moon Apogee

The Moon moves in an oval shape around the Earth, so once a month she’s at her closest to us and this is named Moon Perigee. Two weeks later she’s at her furthest away and this is named Apogee. There are some activities in the garden that really benefit from a closer Moon and some that benefit from her being further away (especially when there’s a risk of fungal growth due to too much water around).

Ascending/Descending Moon

For two weeks every month, the Moon appears a bit higher in the sky every night, ascending until she’s reached her zenith and then she spends the next two weeks descending, getting lower and lower in the sky. This is a great rhythm to work with if you want to optimise your plant’s connection with the soil (in descending Moon) or when you want to harvest your apple crop (in ascending Moon).

Elemental energy of the Moon

And finally, from our perspective here on Earth (a geo-centric view) the Sun passes in front of the twelve zodiac constellations through the year. However, the Moon is quicker, she passes in front of all twelve zodiac constellations every month as she orbits our Earth. The Moon acts like a kind of magnifying lens, capturing the guiding influences of the stars and focusing them down to the plants on Earth. Each constellation has an association with one of the four classical elements and each of these elements corresponds to an aspect of plant growth.

Earth –> Roots

Water –> Leaves

Air –> Flowers

Fire/Warmth –> Fruit/seeds

I would also like to direct curious readers to the UK Biodynamic Association website for discussions, inspiration and where you can also buy Northern Hemisphere biodynamic calendars.

If you have questions for me that relate to my blog – Moon and growing related – please send them to me using the Earth Pathways contact page.